Door-indicator.



I PATENTED JUNE 19,- 1906. L. D. HOLDEN, DEGD.

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VPH. HOLDEN, EXB

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timeshares;

LIBERTY DEAN HOLDEN, OF GLENVILLILQOHIO; VIRGINIA HAWL'EY HOLDEN, EXECUTRIX OF; SAID LIBERTY 'DEAN HOLDEN, DECEASED.

DOOR-I DICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 19, 1906.

Application filed March 2, 1904. Serial No- 196,125.

T0 (11% whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LIBERTY DEAN HOL- DEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Glenville, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door-Indicators, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In most hotels it is desirable that each room shall be taken care of in the morning as soon as possible after the guest has left it. Generally, the maid can onlyfind out whether the guest is still in his room by trying a key in the lock, and thereby learning whether the door is locked from the inside. Not infrequently this awakens a guest to his great an- Moreover, much of the maids time is lost by so trying the doors. The object of this invention is to provide a signal which may be seen from a distance and which will indicate to the maid in the corridor whether a door has been opened in the morning, and since the guest usually goes out when he opens the door in the morning the signal will generally show that the maid is free to go in and do up her Work. The invention is a movable signal adapted to be restrained by the closed door from movement out of a certain position, but which will be released by the opening of the door, whereby the signal will move into some other osition, which invention is hereinafter descri ed, and definitely ointed out in the claims.

In the rawings, Figure 1 is a pers ective view of one side of a hotel-corridor, s owing the invention applied to several room-doors. Fig. 2 is a side view of one of the door-frames carrying the signal-arm and a sectional view of the associated door, and Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of a door and its frame equip ed with the invention.

Re erring to the parts by letters, A represents a signal-arm which is pivoted to the door-frame B in a position'where one, end may be engaged by the closed door 0, with the result of preventing such signal from moving out of the position in which it is so held. When freed from the restraining influence of the door, as by opening the door, said signal-arm will automatically assume substantially the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. It may be caused to swing to this position by the superior weight of the outer end of said lever-arm, or it may be sub- 5 5 ject to any other force tending to swing it out of the position in which the door will hold it. Preferably the outer end of the lever is of such length that it will project beyond the door-frame, so as to be visible from any point in the corridor. In the specific embodiment of the invention shown the arm A has a longitudinal slot a, through which passes the pivot D, which is made fast to the doorframe.

In most hotels there is a watchman who makes frequent rounds of the corridors. In hotels equip ed with this invention it should be the watc mans duty to set these signalarms by swinging them into the position shown in Fig. 2 in full lines. When in this position, the inner end of the arm strikes against the closed door, and it is held in this position by the superior weight of the outer end. Immediately the guest opens the door 7 5 this inner end being freed the arm swings into the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. The device in both conditions is shown at different places in Fig. 1.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with a door-frame, and a door hinged thereto, of ,a signal-arm pivoted to that side of the door-frame with which the free edge of the door cooperates, said arm having a tendency to swing into a non-display position by gravity and being arranged to have one of its ends abut the face of the door and be thereby held in display position, the other end carrying a signal WhlOh projects beyond the door-frame when the arm is indisplay position, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of a door-frame and the hinged door, with a signal-armhaving a longitudinal slot, a pivot-pin assing through 9 5 said slot and secured to said ame, said arm having its outer end counterweighted and adapted to engage at its inner end with the door when closed and to 'be thereby restrained from movement, substantially as [00 specified.

3. The combination with a door-frame, and a door hinged thereto, of a signal-arm longer than the horizontal distance across the doorframe, said arm having a longitudinal slot, a 10 5 pivot-pin passing through said slot into the frame adjacent to the free edge of the door, In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my whereby said arm may hang down idly alongsignature in the presence of two Witnesses. side of the frame, or may be turned up havr T ing its outer end projecting beyond the LIBERTX DEAR HOLDEN frame and its inner end abutting the face of Witnesses:

the closed door, and held in position thereby, E. B. GILOHRIST, substantially as specified. E. L. THURSTON. 

